Research Process Post 6: Reflection with Focus on Learning Styles

      I normally despise research assignments, but this was the most enjoyable of all the ones I've ever had to do, and the one that taught me the most.  My instructor gave us a choice of doing research and blogging about the process, or creating a lesson on research skills, involving an analysis of the instruction and the learners.  I really struggle with teaching these skills, because I don't have them myself, so I went with the first option.  I think this assignment is really good because it covers several learning styles, and is adaptable to the preferences of each student.

     The Behaviourism (carrot and stick) learning style got me started on doing this assignment - it is worth 100 of my possible 840 points of my final grade, or 12%.  The fact that it counts so high is both the carrot and the stick.  Additional carrots for me came from having choices, from attaining the knowledge I need to have in my job, and blogging: I love to talk and can pretend people are actually listening - without interrupting.

      The Cognitivism (mental activity) learning style helped this to sink in for me.  As I plugged away on research, and jabbered away in my blogs, I'd look back and see "reflect on...".  Forcing me to stop and think about what I was doing, and talk about what I was doing, really helped the information to sink in.  I don't like to do this, and would not say this is my preferred learning style - in reality, it really is, because the information will not stay in my head if I don't do this.

     The Constructivism (self teaching, in context) learning style was prevalent in this assignment.  My teacher gave me resources for research methods, but I chose which one to use.  The teacher gave me parameters, but I was able to choose my topic within them.  Then I had to do the research.  The choices I made and the parameters given by my teacher, channeled me to explore and teach myself about research in a professional context.  Again, I wouldn't claim this as my preferred method, because I would prefer to listen to the teacher in a classroom, take notes, then do an assignment off of it - but, I was forced to learn this way, and it works very well.

     The Experientialism (problem solving through trial and improvement) learning style is the best fit for this assignment as I did it through my choices.  It combines the cognitivism and the constructivism learning styles, and suited my learning style to a tee.  I chose the option that allowed me to experience the research, the blogging helped me to correct things as I went, and the reflections made me really think about what I was doing.  I am a visual learner, and though I'm not a kinesthetic learner, I do learn better from hands on activities.  I do not learn from what I am told, but in a traditional setting, I learn from seeing what the teacher writes, and seeing the notes as I write them.  Being able to use a blog, instead of writing a paper, was far more effective than previous assignments as it allows me to add pictures and post in a more aesthetically appealing method than a research paper.

     The Social and Contextual learning style was available, but unused during this assignment.  I prefer to learn in a setting with other learners, but this is an online course.  We do have discussion boards for our reading, and the instructor provided an optional discussion board for this assignment.  The other students weren't using this option, and I'd already given up, and missed a post from one student.  If I had looked, I could of discussed this assignment with her, and I'm sure this would have helped.  You could also argue that the blog made this assignment social, but I haven't received any feedback yet - maybe my knowledge will be refreshed and refined in the future.

      I have learned a great deal during this research journey.  I prefer to jump right in, learn as I go, reflect and adapt, and turn in a final product with aesthetic appeal and use of technology.  Using experientialism, I was able to learn a dreaded topic in a way that was appealing to me.